Brisbane based Catholic Justice advocate, Tony Robertson has called on the Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, General Peter Cosgrove to return his Papal Knighthood. General Cosgrove was invested as a Knight of the Grand Cross in the Order of St Gregory the Great on February 6th by George Cardinal Pell in Sydney.
Mr Robertson said: “The conferring of a Papal Honour on General Cosgrove for services to the Church of Sydney is a scandal that will further alienate Catholics of good will from their Church”
“General Cosgrove chose to lead Australian troops into a war in Iraq in 2003 against the explicit moral directives of Pope John Paul II” he said.
Mr Robertson said “General Cosgrove is a public face of Catholicism and has an opportunity to acknowledge that he failed to fulfil his duty of “loyalty to the Holy See” by his participation in the 2003 Iraq Invasion.
Mr Robertson has been supportive of a campaign begun in 2010 to have General Cosgrove removed from his position as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University.
“Our nation needs leaders who will stand against the culture of death and war. We need educators who can nurture a community of peace making with a commitment to non violent living. General Cosgrove does not represent such leadership” Mr Robertson said.
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